A Blackburn schoolgirl rubbed shoulders with her footballing heroes last night when she flew the flag for England at the World Cup match against Sweden.

Nadiyah Jogee, 15, of Moss Gate, Blackburn, was one of four children who marched out with the George Cross before the match.

The Our Lady and St John RC High School pupil even changed the date of her GCSE maths test to fit the event in.

Today her proud dad said her family had been waiting eagerly in front of the television for the England v Sweden match to catch sight of their daughter.

Ashraf Jogee said: "We saw a glimpse of her. We were really excited about it.

"All the family were sat together watching it.

"We are very proud. The disappointing thing was they showed more of the Swedish flag than they did the English flag so we just slightly got a glimpse of her. But she looked very happy and excited.

"We haven't spoken to her since the match started at all.

"We didn't had a chance to speak to her all day, they were all at the ground from the afternoon rehearsing and everything."

Nadiyah was chosen to carry the flag after entering a Coca-Cola competition selected her as one of 300 winners from across the world who were chosen to carry their countries' flags on to the pitch.

Her mum, Farzana, 37, entered the competition after seeing it advertised on GMTV while Nadiyah was at school.

The Manchester United fan caught the judges' eyes with her explanation of why she should be chosen.

Nadiyah explained to the judges how she is often the subject of jokes from her family for her love of The Beautiful Game'.

The schoolgirl took her 14-year-old cousin, Sadiyah Saleh, from Leicester, with her.

When she was chosen Nadiyah said: "I couldn't believe it when I found I had won. It is my dream come true.

"I am the biggest Wayne Rooney fan so to meet him and then see him play and be on the pitch with him is just amazing."